Christian Van Thillo (born 25 March 1962 in Antwerp,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

businessman. He was

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

DPG Media DPG Media Group is a Belgian media company also active in the Netherlands and Denmark. It is owned by the Van Thillo family and employs some 6,000 people. Divisions The DPG Media Group operates through three national subsidiaries: * DPG Media ...

, a leading family-owned Belgian media concern that owns print media and broadcast media in Belgium and the Netherlands and print media in Denmark. His family-owned business controls the Belgian newspapers

Het Laatste Nieuws ''Het Laatste Nieuws'' (; in English ''The Latest News'') is a Dutch-language newspaper based in Antwerp, Belgium. It was founded by Julius Hoste Sr. on 7 June 1888. It is now part of DPG Media, and is the most popular newspaper in Flanders an ...

and

De Morgen ''De Morgen'' ( Dutch for ''The Morning'') is a Flemish newspaper with a circulation of 53,860. The paper is published in Antwerp, Belgium. History and profile ''De Morgen'' originates from a merger in 1978 of two socialist newspapers ' (meani ...

, Dutch newspapers

Algemeen Dagblad The ''Algemeen Dagblad'' () or ''AD'' () (English: "General Daily Paper") is a Dutch daily newspaper based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. History and profile ''Algemeen Dagblad'' was founded in 1946. The paper is published in tabloid format and ...

Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). ' ...

and

De Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized ...

and publications in Denmark. The concern also owns the largest group of commercially funded TV channels in Belgium and several national radio stations including Q-music in Belgium and the Netherlands. It also has a big online presence in Belgium with

hln.be ''Het Laatste Nieuws'' (; in English language, English ''The Latest News'') is a Dutch Language, Dutch-language newspaper based in Antwerp, Belgium. It was founded by Julius Hoste Sr. on 7 June 1888. It is now part of DPG Media, and is the most p ...

being the most visited website in the country. The media concern had a turnover of €1.45 billion ($1.64 billion) in 2017.

Career

In 1989 he became ''Group Managing Director'' of ''De Persgroep'', and in 1990 Chief Executive – General Manager of Aurex NV. His subsequent position was CEO of De Persgroep NV. Alongside he was a member of the Regency Committee, of the

National Bank of Belgium The National Bank of Belgium (NBB; nl, Nationale Bank van België, french: Banque nationale de Belgique, german: Belgische Nationalbank) has been the central bank of Belgium since 1850. The National Bank of Belgium was established with 100% pr ...

(NBB). Christian Van Thillo is a member of the Belgian business club

Cercle de Lorraine The Cercle de Lorraine or Club van Lotharingen is a Belgian business club, located in Brussels, Belgium. The club was founded in 1998, and it wants to bring together, distinguished and representative personalities from the Belgian financial commun ...

. On 1 March 2020 Christian Van Thillo stepped down as CEO of DPG Media, a role he had taken up for 30 years. Van Thillo became the company's board's executive chairman and in that capacity spearheads the group's strategy, acquisition policy and the development of the group's media brands.

Education and personal

He obtained a master's degree in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, (

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. Th ...

) and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

from Duke University, (

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

). Van Thillo's personal net value is estimated at €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion). He is married to Nathalie Van Reeth (born 1966), an interior architecture enthusiast.

References

Christian Van Thillo
(NBB)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Thillo, Christian Flemish businesspeople Belgian newspaper publishers (people) Newspaper chain founders KU Leuven alumni Fuqua School of Business alumni Living people 1962 births